


Moor of mist

by Calanthedeservedbetter



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Legend (Linked Universe)-centric, Legend is kinda paranoid, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Self-Hatred, Suspense, Trust Issues, but who wouldn't be?, deep deep inside Legend is a softie, it gets ridiculously fluffy at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28477650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calanthedeservedbetter/pseuds/Calanthedeservedbetter
Summary: Legend doesn't know where he is. He doesn't remember how he got here. He doesn’t have  a sword nor his other belongings. Not having much choice, he sets out to find his companions, and his guide becomes a strange little girl who refuses to give him the name of the place where they are.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 60





	Moor of mist

Even before he opens his eyes, Legend realizes a few things. Firstly, he hears the sea hitting the shore. Second, everything hurts like hell. Third, someone is playing with his hair.

"The fuck you want War--" he growls, but his voice freezes in his throat as a soft hand pokes him on the cheek. "--riors..."

He opens his eyes, but doesn’t see a tall blonde with a mean smile on his face, but a little girl. She blinks at him with huge gray eyes, and when he doesn't answer, poke his cheek again.

"Stop it," he grunts in confusion.

When he tries to get up, the girl moves away. Another thing that Legend unfortunately realizes is that his head hurts as if someone hit him with something heavy. An iron pot or something...

He looks from side to side. He feels vague, as if he is about to throw up, but this unpleasant sensation remains in his stomach and does not move higher. What he sees doesn’t fill him with optimism. As he suspected, he is on the island. The island is rough. There is no vegetation here, just rocks and this fog… Legend had never seen such a fog. It looks a bit like it's made of boiled away milk. He cannot tell what time of day it is, but it’s definitely not night. The sea is a black spot hitting gray stones. He smiles bitterly. For a moment he had the nerve to think he was back on Koholint-- Some piercing pain hits his head and almost sends him to the ground. He grabs his head, not sure if he's trying to crush it or hold so it won't shatter. He takes deep breaths and tries to calm down. 

Something nudges him in the side and the headache disappears instantly. Legend raises his head slowly, trying not to make any sudden movements fearing the pain will return.

"Are you alright, sir?"

_Sir…?_

"You still here?" he growls.

The girl tilts her head to the side as if not understanding. Legend straightens up and starts brushing off his clothes. To his surprise, they aren’t wet. But why would they be? He's starting to feel dizzy again. He massages the circles on his temples. It helps a little but not enough to eliminate the pain completely.

"You know, I don't have time for you, I have... some more important things on my mind right now..." He looks around searchingly as he says it. "Go play or something..."

The girl gets up from her knees and runs towards the sea. Legend sits down again, reducing the risk of falling if he gets a headache again. _These rocks look like they’re made of razor blades._

He’s on an island, that’s for sure. But why is he on _this_ island? Was he teleported? Bloody hell... That would explain the dry clothes but where are the others then? If it was really the fault of the portal then they could be splitted. Well, in that case he should go look for them now. The sooner he finds them, the better.

He’s about to leave but realizes something is not quite right. As if he could walk easier, as if some weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Ah… 

He doesn't have his bag… 

...and a sword. 

_Great._

Out of frustration, he kicks a pebble that flies a few meters and lands in the dark water of the sea? The ocean? _Hell if he knows._

The girl is looking in his direction. The bottom of her long dress is soaked and her ashen-gray hair is disheveled.

"Uh..." they look at each other for an uncomfortably long moment, until Legend looks away now staring at the sea on her left. The girl turns back to see what caught his attention. "Hey... Little girl?" she turns around again. "Have you seen my bag?"

"A bag?"

"Well... a bag… a one with leather straps. Made from dark purple fabric?" The girl blinks at him as if not understanding. "Doesn't ring the bell, huh?" he says quietly and more to himself than to her.

Maybe his bag was thrown with another hero? If so then… then there's nothing to worry about, even Warriors would take it with him. Everyone knew how important things were in it. They wouldn’t leave it behind. So theoretically, he doesn’t have to worry about this, although... he feels a strange itching in his fingers, as if he was somehow exposed. Without a weapon, without his stuff...

"Not good… not good, but it could be worse..." he looks up and locates the child who is now climbing the rocks. "Hey, little girl? What is this island?"

The girl climbs further and then stops so all he sees are her gray eyes. 

"A rocky one," she responds as seriously as possible.

Legend doesn’t even blink at that. _What a kidder..._

"I didn't notice..." he grunts and crosses his arms. “I was talking about the name. Every island has a name."

The girl pulls up higher and is already on the same stone as Legend. She looks thoughtful and then she replies. “Misty Island”

Legend rolls his eyes and wants to say something unpleasant, but holds back. It's just a kid

_So what?_ A weak voice from the back of his mind asks.

So that he is better than that. Even if the girl does it out of sheer spite, Legend shouldn't get mad at her. He doesn't know why or what makes her different from other people, but he just knows he shouldn't. So he doesn't. He turns and leaves her behind.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Legend walked straight for a while, then turned inland. In the end he ended back on the coast.

_It's all because of this fucking fog,_ he thinks, _You can't see a hell of a thing and wherever you go it looks the same. Only rocks, rocks and rocks everywhere!_

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"For Din's sake!" he yells when the child's voice catches him off guard. He forgot about this little girl. "Don’t you have other people to torment?" he clutches at his rapidly beating heart while still panting .

"Why would someone want to torment somebody?"

Legend winces.

“Hell if I know… maybe because they're jealous or want to get something and they know they won't get it in a thousand years? Or they are just complete morons. It's hard to tell." he shrugs.

"I don't think I know someone like that," she says unfazed.

"Then good for you, sometimes I feel like I only know people like that," he smiles wryly.

He looks at the sea (or maybe the ocean?). He squeezes his eyes, but it doesn't help. The only thing he sees is a small piece of water and then everything mixes with the mist. If it weren’t for this fog, he could swim to see if there is any land still here. He grits his teeth. But the fog is still here and it doesn't look like it wants to disappear any time soon, he thinks bitterly. Legend is no expert. As much as he would like to, he has to admit that he doesn't know everything but he has one thing that most don't, and that is a self-preservation instinct. He knows you shouldn't sleep in the presence of strangers, as well as he knows that when you have a map then you should use it.

And just as much right now he knows that going to sea (or whatever it is) in the current weather would be suicide. Black water washes the shore of a pebble beach. Maybe if he went along the coast he would find something useful. It's hard to tell. He has no options, he can't afford to be picky.

_If only I had a goddamn map of this place..._

"So you found it, sir?"

"What?" Legend blinks in surprise. He had completely forgotten that he was not alone here.

"What you were looking for"

_Bag._ He hangs his head and kicks a small rock into the sea. "I didn’t"

"You shouldn’t do that," she says, and tilts her head to look at him. Her curly hair is now reaching her knees.

"Do _what_?"

"This" she points her finger at the sea where the rock he kicked has sunk.

Legend has no strength to argue with her or ask what she meant. He just goes away.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


When he returns to the rocky beach, the girl jumps from one rock to the other. She does so in a rather non-cautious manner, although Legend finds any rock-jumping stupid. One careless move and your leg is injured. _Why would someone even do it?_

He sits down on the rock and although he himself is not aware of it, it’s exactly the same as before. He pulls his knees up to his chest.

"Yer parents don't mind you playing here?"

The girl stops gracefully and seemingly too graceful for a seven-year-old child. She turns and tilts her head slightly.

"No," she answers shortly. Previously, he didn’t pay attention to it but the girl is rather reticent. Not like him when he was a brat. He smiles, but as the memories fly through his mind the smile turns into an ugly grimace. He wants to slap himself just to stop thinking about it.

When he was a kid, he was so obnoxious. Never shutting his mouth, confident, conceited, and... too open, too sensitive, too believing in values that had nothing to do with reality.

For a moment he manages to break free from the loop of memories. And while he still can, tries to distract his attention, redirect it to something else.

"Hey, little girl, do you live on this island?" he asks, although he is fully aware that it doesn't matter, she will answer him with a half-truth or not at all.

But to his surprise, she answered affirmatively.

Legend looks at the tips of his boots. If she lives here _(assuming she's not lying)_ , then she probably knows the island like the back of her hand. So maybe... So maybe...

_But what if she's lying?_

_She didn’t give the name of the island._

_She's playing with you._

_Since when are you so gullible?_

He grits his teeth and feels his gums ache from the pressure.

He’s not gullible. He’s. Not.

Anyway, what other options does he have? To sit on his ass on a rock until some polished knight finds him? _No, thank you._ And besides… he doesn't like this place. Something about the water or maybe the rocks... Maybe it’s about the fog, or the air that doesn't seem to move and just stays in one place, makes him refuse to stay here.

"Um..." he swallows and mentally prepares himself for what he is about to say. "Could you... could you show me around?"

Mentally, he is already prepared for mockery but to his relief the girl agrees.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Something about the girl's behavior is disturbing Legend. Not her way of being or talking, it’s something else. Something he can't yet define. But something about her is preventing Legend from being able to overcome himself and look her in the eye. As if that was not enough he begins to have doubts. Maybe trusting this girl was the wrong choice? But what else could he do?

"Not to be mean, but we've been walking through this plain for half an hour and all I can see is that tall grass--"

"It's a moor," the girl interrupts him.

“Whatever you want to call it, I mean”, he stops the explosion and takes a deep breath. “My point is that I don't see a town anywhere. When I talked about this ‘showing around’ I meant it more like leading to civilization, not to show flowers."

The girl doesn’t say anything but looks around the endless space.

“Do you even know where you're taking us? This fog is so thick that I can barely see five meters away!"

She’s silent again, and Legend wonders if he may have made the biggest mistake of his life.

"It depends where you want to go," she clasps her hands behind her back and turns around making her oversized dress waving. The fog makes her look transparent. For some reason, Legend feels a strange kind of unease, which is impossibly stupid by the way. He’s afraid of a little girl? He? No, definitely not. It is this space, this huge open space that cannot be seen. Is this surely an island? It's hard to say. It's all because of this fog. ...and space.

“Look, I'm not in the mood for such games. I don't know where I am, my comrades are wandering hell knows where and Wind has probably already put his sticky hands on my stuff!"

The girl doesn’t seem touched. "Who is Wind?"

Legend already wants to answer her in a non-gentle way that it’s none of her business, but at the same moment he falls to the ground like struck by lightning.

_“Everything’s gonna be alright, you'll see everything’s gonna be alright! You just have to listen to what I say and--"_

"You're doing it again, sir"

Legend forces himself to open his eyes, but to his surprise he's not on the ground at all.

“What am I doing?” He asks, genuinely confused. Maybe he just made it up, but he just heard someone? But that doesn't make sense, he can't see anyone here. He doesn't think anyone is hiding in the fog too. He would have noticed it.

"You're holding your head again, sir"

It is indeed so. He slowly puts his hands away. "Are you sure you are alright?" she comes closer to him.

"Where is the nearest village here?" he ignores her.

"Far"

"Can you be more specific?"

"Too far for you," she replies.

Legend snorts but stops right away because he feels recurring pain in his temples. He has enough of her. He won't learn anything from her not even in a million years.

"Where are your parents, little girl?" he asks casually. He would put her back to them and maybe get some answers.

"Not here"

"It's obvious," he grunts. “But since you're here, they must be close. Do you know where they can be?"

"No. They left me here. They said it would be better this way.” She shrugs, and Legend… and Legend feels his stomach turn. Shit… He pushes hair back from his face. He was not prepared for such a confession. Fuck.

"Um..." he doesn't know what to say to her.

The girl doesn’t look sad, but thoughtful. Maybe she’s still unaware of her situation.

"Where do you want to go?" she repeats the question.

Legend can barely hear her. Fuck. He knows what he should do, he knows what anyone in his place and with his title would do but shit... He's not prepared for it. He doesn't know how it's supposed to work at all. He had never been put in this position... Shit... why him? Legend feels an invisible weight on his shoulders that seems to increase with each passing second.

"I... shit, is there... Is there anyone who can take care of you?" he finally asks, and although he can guess the answer, he has the audacity to beg in his mind every deity he knows to be wrong.

His heart seems to stop three more times before he receives an answer.

"I have an uncle," is all she says.

Legend feels like half of the weight is gone and he can breathe normally again.

The wind blows and makes the tall grass move. It's as if it is inviting all the blades to a macabre dance in which their life is at stake. The fog does not clear up, though. In fact it is now even denser now. The scent of heathers is in the air, and Legend, although he never liked the smell of flowers, feels relief. A relief that can only be experienced after a hard day while going to sleep with aching legs but a smile on a face...

_"Don’t you fucking dare to close your--"_

He wakes up from imagination. But how could he wake up if he wasn’t dreaming in the first place? His throat is dry. Who was it? He looks around but sees nothing but a white suspension. He mutters a curse under his breath.

"Sir?" He turns to the girl. Swearing in front of a child is probably not the best idea... 

"Where... where does your uncle live?" he asks, half conscious.

"He lives in the lighthouse," she replies without taking those gray eyes from him. Legend frowns. Lighthouse? There was no lighthouse here. He walked along the coast quite a long way and saw nothing. Legend may not be very nimble, but he can fucking tell the difference between a lighthouse and a rock! If this side of an island, continent or hell knows what was a lighthouse then he would see it.

"What are you talking about? There's no--” the girl stretches her right hand to the side without even looking in that direction. Legend follows her hand and encounters diffused light aimed directly at his face. "--lighthouse..."

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


For an unknown reason, Legend decided to escort her. In fact, he doesn't know why he decided to do so. Maybe he has this part of decency in him? Maybe this one was not ripped away from him? He grimaces. _Who knows._

He would like to say that he’s doing it for purely noble reasons but he doesn’t walk her away just to get her safely to her new home. He wants information. From this girl, he will probably not learn anything, but from her uncle? There is a possibility that he will. _That is, assuming the uncle actually exists._

Legend winces. Thinking this way makes him feel hideous, but a voice in the back of his head tells him there is no such thing as exaggerated caution and gives reasons why he shouldn't trust her. He tries not to listen to that voice. Even though his mind is blurry, he realizes that half of the accusations are absurd.

The other half... Well, that's why he is on guard.

His vigilance is put to the test when Legend almost stumbles over a root sticking out of the ground. He exhales suddenly. _Yes, Link you are the best fucking mastermind in the world, you trip over your own feet!_ When he told the girl to take him to her uncle, he thought that she would show him the most optimal route, not that he would be dragged through the moors, swamps, and now the forest.

"This is the most optimal way," he’s not sure if he said it aloud or the girl is reading his mind.

"Yeah, whatever--" he feels a heavy weight on his chest. As if someone had sat on it. It’s not a stabbing pain, but an overwhelming like a slow squashing. His ribs don't hurt or anything like that. But his lungs... his lungs are empty. Just like a bellows when squeezed, except his lungs seem to stick together on the inside and Legend has no handles to pull them back.

He rests his back against the trunk of a huge tree and a nozzle. The girl approaches him, but doesn't help him. She says something to him. Yes, her lips are definitely moving, though the rest of her facial muscles clearly contradict that. But what is she saying? Legend feels his eyelids grow heavy.

_“He's choking! Choking! Damn it, get something decent over here!"_

Is she saying it? No, the movement of her mouth doesn’t match what he hears. So who?

He turns his head to the side where a voice seems to be coming from. And for a moment, for a brief moment, he sees a glade bathed in sunlight.

_"He is…!"_

_“Stand back for goddess's sake! Give him more space, he needs more space!"_

A small hand prods his shoulder.

"Hn?" he gasps unconscious and feels the air beginning to creep back into his lungs.

"We can't stop now," says the girl seriously.

The glade disappears, replaced by a dark forest. Legend finds the strength to get up. He's dizzy, but he had worse. Anyway, he has to take the girl home. And maybe he'll eventually find out where he is. Especially the latter one.

_Don't pretend to be a hero in shining armor._

He runs a trembling hand through his hair, he swallows.

The sooner he deals with it, the better.

"You're right, little girl, we should go."

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Legend doesn't know how much time has passed, but he doesn't feel much better. He begins to wonder if he’s dehydrated. That would explain the dizziness and the feeling that he is about to pass out. Hunger also makes itself felt. He doesn't know when was the last time he ate something, but his stomach is definitely starting to demand it. Uhh, if only he had a bag with him...

As they walk through the dark forest he notices something lying on the ground. He comes closer and notices that they are... wild strawberries. He can't help a smile creeping up on his lips. But it's not a bitter smile, it's not a mean smile, it's a _relieved_ smile. They are wild strawberries. He repeats and feels saliva build up in his mouth. Wild strawberries.

Wild strawberries are good because they are safe, unlike many others forest fruits. For example, blueberries are the most sneaky bastards, some will be wonderfully sweet, but the other may turn out to be some kind of nasty stuff that will twist your gut inside out. But wild strawberries? Wild strawberries are always good.

He starts to collect them and doesn’t even notice when the girl mechanically stops in mid-step and slowly approaches him without making any sound.

"We have to go," she says.

Legend frowns and tries to talk back, but the girl refuses to let him speak.

"Leave it alone," she says seriously.

"And why would I do it?" he asks irritated. He's hungry, and the girl definitely knows it - his stomach has been growling all the time for the last few minutes.

"Because you don’t want to die"

Legend feels all the blood drain from his face, but at the same time the corners of his mouth involuntarily rise up. A little chuckle escapes his throat, then starts laughing at the top of his throat.

"Do you even hear yourself little girl? Are you trying to say that the wild strawberries will kill me?"

Legend begins to be convulsed with laughter. She just shrugs.

"Maybe"

Something about the way she says it (although she doesn't do it any other way than before) makes Legend stop laughing. He looks at the wild strawberries evaluatingly and... throws them away.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Legend doesn't even notice when the forest turns back into a moor. The fog is denser here, so that he can barely see the outline of the girl. Some part of him feels a panic fear because of such a limited field of vision and wants to take the girl's hand so as not to be left alone in this heather wilderness. Nevertheless, he doesn’t do it. He's too proud for that. He still hasn't found his companions. If any of them saw that he was hiding behind a seven-year-old girl, they would torment him for a long time.

Not to mention he knows nothing about this girl. Maybe it's paranoia, or maybe a portal has opened in the air and Legend has fallen head to the rocks, but it feels like the girl… isn't really a girl. Which is stupid. He doesn't sense any masking magic or anything like that. On the other hand, he's been feeling awfully lightheaded for a while now. As if he had lost a lot of blood.

And maybe it’s true. Everything hurts him, and the longer he goes, the more the pain grows. He might as well have an internal bleeding and not know it. No. Hold on.

It does not make sense.

He takes a deep breath. He just realized something. Right from the start he feels like he's lost half of his brain. Not literally, but figuratively. He doesn't logically connect the facts. He pauses for a moment, purple flowers whip his bare knees.

He's damn knows where. He has no idea what the status of his companions is. He doesn’t have a bag with him. He’s starving. And around the island... (No. Why does he assume it's an island?!) guides him a little girl. He clenches his hands into fists.

"Sir?"

The girl emerges from the fog or is it just what he’s imagining?

"Actually, I've wanted to ask you something for a while," he says slowly.

The girl nods for him to continue.

"What's your name? Calling you a ‘little girl’ all the time is kinda weird"

Legend tries to capture at least one detail, some trace of emotion, but nothing like that appears on her face.

"Lizzy," she replies. "Can we go now?"

Legend wants to deny it, but the girl is already starting to move away.

"Wait a minute!" he’s catching up with her. "How old are you?" he previously assumed seven, but is she? That's what she looks like but what if his eyes are deceiving him?

"You don't need to know," this one sentence that makes all the hairs on his head stand on end.

"Oh? And what, according to the venerable miss, I _should_ know?" he blocks her way and leans over her.

The girl, Lizzy, pays no attention to his foul mouth. Maybe she's too well reared for that, or maybe… or maybe

“The lighthouse is that way,” Legend doesn't know if she is simply stating the fact, or if she answers his question.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Legend is tired. While earlier he had the feeling of pain in his muscles and head, now it feels like someone heavy has sat on his neck. Each step is a torture, he stumbles over his own feet. But each time he gets up telling himself that he had worse. But in reality he's scared of the possibility that the girl-- no, she's not a girl-- that _Lizzy_ would leave him alone. He doesn't want to be alone. His muscles burn with living fire but his heart is as cold as stalactites suspended from the ceilings of mountain caves. He trembles. Abruptly he feels a strange feeling of isolation. He hangs his head low. He doesn't want to be alone. He doesn't know where the sudden feeling came from, but he can't help but feel that… he wants someone by his side.

He hugs himself but this stupid trick won't fool his body. He’s all alone. He’s alone and has always been.

Something stings his heart and his fingers tighten. The truth is, he never had anyone. Everyone leaves, sooner or later, but it's always his fault. He squeezes his eyes shut as if that would help him somehow.

"Are you in pain again, sir?"

Legend forces himself to open his eyes. The image is blurry, as if--

When did he start crying?

"What-- what are you?" he asks, his voice breaking.

"I think we can stay here for a while"

"No, what--"

"Do you have a headache again?" She holds out a thin hand at him, but Legend shoves it away.

"Why aren't you answering my questions?!" he yells at her and feels like all his frustration, which had been locked under a shade from the beginning of the day, finally explodes. “I have no idea who you are or what you want from me! We go to the lighthouse for half a day, but the distance does not change! What is this place?! Why am I here?! Why aren't the others here?! Why-- why don't you answer me?!"

Lizzy doesn’t interrupt him. She looks at him all the time but doesn't judge him, her gray eyes express no emotion.

"If you have the strength to scream like that, we might as well go," is all she says.

Legend wants to say something else, but at the same moment feels a wave of fatigue overwhelm him. It was as if his long monologue had sucked out the last of his strength that kept him on his feet.

He doesn't know when he lies on the grass, nor does he know when Lizzy sat down next to him.

"I'll wake you up when we have to move on," she says quietly.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_He feels a hand on his face. He moves away from it. Its touch burns him like red-hot metal._

_"Why can't it work faster?!"_

_“Calm down, it's gonna be okay just-- Don't shake him like that!”_

_Legend feels the hand on his cheek disappear, and someone new appears beside him. They gently take his hand in theirs and rub it lightly for a moment. For some reason Legend is terribly uncomfortable but he can't pull or move away._

_A scream reverberates in the distance, but Legend cannot decode it. The person by his side apparently can and trembles violently, almost dropping his hand._

_A new presence appears on his other side. Their breathing is ragged, as if they were running somewhere. The figure unscrews something, and after a while Legend can feel a pleasant tingling spreading throughout his body._

_"That should help him"_

_The person to his left goes back to rubbing his hand. "Don't we have more?" they ask so softly and quietly that Legend who is sitting next to them can hardly hear it._

"We have to go"

_"We need to hurry up"_

"We can't stay here anymore"

_"We can't wait any longer"_

"Sir, you must wake up."

_"...This is his only chance"_

"Sir?"

_Legend slowly opens his eyes. He does it with difficulty, but manages to pull himself up to his elbows. He's covered in sweat and his hair sticks unpleasantly against his face._

_He blinks confused. Before his eyes is a glade bathed in sunlight and some people are sitting on his both sides. When they see him staring at them, their faces lit up with relief and pure panic. Legend doesn't understand any of these emotions. Who are these people anyway, why do they stand above him? Legend shudders. Someone is still holding his hand. He doesn't even realize when he moves away and hits a tree._

"Sir?"

_The tree talks to him and twists its branches around his head playing with his hair. It goes lower, wraps around his neck._

"Sir?"

_Branches twine around his arms, immobilizing him. A few leaves grow near his face and gently send their kisses down his cheeks. It's cold, it's so fucking cold._

"Sir?"

Someone is calling him? But why? Who would call out to him? Why would anyone title him a sir? After all, he’s only... He’s only...

He's just Link... just Link...

_A branch of the tree drills right through him, but there’s no blood. There’s only emptiness. Emptiness and constant cold. Nothing more._

_He feels the image in front of his eyes fade and everything turns white and then gray._

He's on the moor again. He rolls over and grunts, fighting for air. _What was that? What the fuck was that?!_

He pulls up on one arm while the other looks for the wound in his stomach. But there's nothing there.

How is this even possible?! Legend's stomach rises to the throat. What if... What if it's the flowers?! Maybe their smell contains hallucinogenic substances? Or maybe he’s under the influence of poison?

No, no, no! He grabs his head. They are heathers, ordinary heathers! There is no way it’s anything else!

But how can he explain these… these visions?

"Sir?"

"What the fuck are you?!" he yells at the top of his throat.

The girl is kneeling next to him. "I'm Lizzy, remember?"

“Cut the crap! I know you aren’t who you say you are!"

The girl doesn't answer, but also doesn't move closer. She looks at him, and then… after a while she smiles gently. "So you figured it out?"

Maybe if the situation had been a little different Legend would have felt quite proud to have figured it out, but right now all he feels is fear.

"I’m not a human," she confirms.

"Then what? A demon? A nightmare? Some kind of space-controlling monster?!"

"...There’s no such thing as monsters controlling space on this scale and you know it"

"I don’t care!" he screams and his throat hurts. “Why are you keeping me here?! Why are you showing me these… these visions?! What do you want from me?!”

The creature seems unfazed by his screams. "What do you want?"

“I want to know what's going on! Why are you keeping me here!"

"I'm not keeping you here," she says, her face expressing absolutely nothing.

"Oh so maybe I chained myself to this island huh?"

The creature seems slightly bored with his sarcasm. "What do you really want?"

"I... I what?" didn’t she hear him?

“You keep saying that you want to get out of here, you want to know something, you want to understand something. But you actually don’t. You just kind of want it. When I extend a helping hand to you, you reject it. When I give you an answer, you don't want to accept it and you look for an ulterior motive. Everything is at your reach, but you don't stretch your hand out as if there was a blade hanging somewhere above. You see the truth, but every time you look away."

Legend is walled up, he doesn't know what to say. He hears his heartbeat in his ears. Has it always been so loud?

"No-- it’s not true," is the only thing he manages to stutter out.

"Not true, or you don't want to believe it?"

Legend runs a hand through his hair. An island, a girl, visions, heathers, a dark forest, a lighthouse, wild strawberries...

Stone island, purple flowers, visions, poisonous fruits...

Visions of what?

"Who are these people? What do the visions represent?" he asks, lifting his head up.

Lizzy tilts her head to the side and smiles slightly.

_She won't tell me..._

He hangs his head and stares at the ground. The creature walks past him and takes the hat off his head. She throws it to the ground and starts braiding his hair.

Visions... what was happening in them? He tries to focus, but the heathers billowing by the wind distract him. So he tears them off.

_“Everything’s gonna be alright, you'll see everything’s gonna be alright!"_

But what was supposed to be alright?

What exactly happened?

_“Stand back for goddess's sake! Give him more space, he needs more space!"_

Why would he need more space? And why would anyone want to help him in the first place?

He's already dug to the ground. His fingernails are ruined but they don't hurt.

_“He's choking! Choking! Damn it, get something decent over here!"_

"Am I dead?" although the very thought puts him in a strange mood, he says it with a calmness unheard of him.

Lizzy doesn't answer.

But through her silence Legend finds the answer. No, he’s not. Why would someone give more space for a corpse?

At the same moment, he notices that something is sticking out in the hole he has dug. It’s a root. Naturally he tries to snatch it away.

He was under the tree. He was leaning against it, but it wasn't the reason he was hurt. It was something else. Someone else…

He was covered in sweat... someone was holding him...

_“Everything’s gonna be alright, you'll see everything’s gonna be alright!"_

But…

_“Don't shake him like that!”_

_"That should help him"_

But with what? What was supposed to help him?!

Who were these people? Who would-- He stops digging and leaves the root alone.

"Ha..." he lowers his head as a chuckle escapes his throat. Lizzy has just finished braiding his hair and is now tying it with a hair band. "I'm so fucking dumb" he wipes the sweat off his face, completely ignoring to the fact that his hands are dirty.

This constant looping, fog through which he cannot see anything, pain in the whole body, voices of people, the only people who cared about him...

"I'm so fucking dumb," he says again, as if he can’t believe himself.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah... I think so"

Before he gets up, Lizzy puts something on his head. Legend touches it with his hand. These are flowers, a wreath of them.

He wants to throw it away for a moment, but doesn’t. It’s meaningless. 

"Let's go."

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Maybe Legend is dreaming, maybe not. But the distance between them and the lighthouse is shorter. Now, as the fog has slowly cleared away, he can see its outline. It’s tall and monstrous. He can even see stones breaking through the elevations here and there. It's old, that's for sure, but it looks relatively stable.

“Will someone be there? Someone like you?"

"Are you afraid?"

Legend snorts. "Of course not"

They keep going. Moors give way to bare rocks. And for a moment, Legend thinks they have come full circle, but he chases away those uncertainties. The lighthouse is right in front of him. There’s no mistake.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


They are in front of the door. Honestly even after the entire journey, Legend still feels uneasy. In fact, he doesn't know whether when he opens them, it won't be too late and he’ll wake up in his lifeless, perforated body. Or worse - buried underground.

"I won't open this door for you," Lizzy's voice snaps him out of unwanted thoughts. "You know it"

Legend swallows. "Yeah, I know"

"Then why are you hesitating?"

"Hey Lizzy..." he isn't even sure if he should call her that. "Where are you from?"

The creature blinks unmoved. "The name of the place I come from won't tell you anything"

"Right... But you know the place where I'm from is called Hyrule"

He looks around, making sure no one else is here. Of course, he doesn't find anyone.

"Place like any other," he shrugs. “It can always be changed. The problem is you can't control what people you meet. You can only decide who you want to stay with and who you leave"

"Are you going to open this door?"

"What? Yes, yes! Of course I am... but let me finish"

He takes a deep breath. “...The problem is, you never know who you will meet. It may be someone good who wants to help you, but it may just as well be a thug who has been paid to get rid of you. You know what I mean?"

"No, but it sounds like you're trying to justify yourself"

Legend raises his index finger and opens his mouth to deny it, but actually… he bursts out laughing.

"Maybe... maybe you're right!" he says through laughter. “Maybe I’m trying to justify myself. But maybe, just maybe I'm fucking right! After all I felt something was wrong with you."

"But in the end you trusted me"

"Yeah, that's also true," he wipes the tears from the corners of his eyes.

They stand in silence for a moment, waiting for Legend to open the door. But he doesn't, his hand is trembling.

"I have a question, but before I ask it, you have to promise me that you will answer it without any 'you don't have to know' and 'it doesn't matter'," he tries to imitate her voice while grimacing unbearably.

Lizzy frowns and Legend can't help but feel that her face looks even more bizarre with emotions than without them.

"Do you need this answer to open the door?"

He shrugs. "Maybe"

Lizzy examines his face for a moment and Legend wonders if she is actually trying to read his mind.

"All right I swear"

Legend takes a deep breath and looks her straight in the eyes, looking for falsehood in them. "Why did you help me?"

"This is the question you wanted to ask me?"

"Well yeah and you promised you would answer it"

"Fair enough I suppose," she says. "I just wanted to do it"

Now Legend is baffled. He frowns. "To do _what_ exactly?"

"To help you of course" she tilts her head to the side. "Not everything has an ulterior motive"

"But-- I--" he doesn't know what to say. "I don't... I don't understand?"

“I saw how torn you are and I decided to help you. Nobody's doomed to loss, you know?"

For some reason, Legend doesn't understand it himself, but he feels like for the first time since... Since he came here, his heart feels warm, and that warmth spreads to the rest of his body, and especially persistently affects his face.

"Are you in pain?" Legend wants to shake his head but finds himself unable to. Instead he smiles slightly.

“No I-- thank you. Thank you."

Lizzy's eyes narrow as if she didn't understand what he meant.

"Will you open it?" she asks.

Legend looks at the wooden door. "Yes, there is no point in delaying it"

Lizzy nods. "Farewell"

Legend knows that this is a goodbye and that he will have to make the way to the top of the lighthouse alone.

"Farewell"

He opens the door and without looking back climbs the rough wooden steps. The room upstairs is empty so he walks onto the balcony. The fog is now completely gone and all he can see is the bright sun illuminating the horizon. He looks down for a moment, looking for Lizzy, but doesn't find her in front of the lighthouse door. It was as if she had melted with the mist.

He takes the wreath off and unties his hair. He always preferred to have it lose.

For a reason he cannot understand, he continues to smile, as if his muscles are frozen in that alignment, but Legend… Legend doesn't mind. Not really.

Suddenly the wind blows up and the wreath is lifted by its force. He tries to grab it, but then the wooden railing gives up and falls, and so Legend with it.

Legend doesn't know what was happening during the fall. Was the wind whipping his hair? Did he feel like he was going to throw up? Was he regretting something?

He doesn't know, because at the very next moment he’s lying with his back against a tree. He stares blankly for a moment, still not understanding where he is. He’s brought back to reality by Wind’s scream, who apparently had been sleeping against his shoulder a moment ago.

“Legend woke up! He's awake!" He screams and his eyes are two shining stars. "Hey how are you feeling Le--" Wind makes a screech as the older hero hugs him tightly.

"Legend are... are you okay?" he asks hesitantly and tries to pull away.

"Of course, I've never been better!" he says and lets him free himself from the embrace.

“Are you sure? For one hundred percent?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," he says and smiles slightly. "I love you, you know?"

Wind seems embarrassed by his sudden tenderness. He scratches the back of his neck and looks away as his cheeks turn pink. "I... love you too Legend?" he smiles uncertainly, showing his teeth.

"What's going on?" he only now notices that Hyrule is lying on his other side. "Wha's goin onnn?" he asks again, this time less clearly. He is visibly exhausted and has a few bruises on his face but looks relatively fine.

_"We can't wait any longer"_

"Legend?"

_"...This is his only chance"_

Hyrule… Hyrule healed him. That's why he's half awake.

"Legend..." Hyrule leans on his elbows towards him.

Legend reaches out and pulls Hyrule closer so that his head is just below his chin. Every muscle in his body is burning him, but he's not paying attention to it right now. He pulls the confused kid away from him and then looking into his eyes, starts to speak slowly so that his dim mind understands.

"You're the best. Best of the best. And never let anyone tell you otherwise. I love you and you will always be the best in my eyes."

"Oh wow, Legend... I don't know... I don't know what to say," Hyrule clearly has trouble focusing on one point and his eyes seem to move without his will. "Gee... thanks, I love you too man..."

"Wind, you called? Where is--"Legend turns to the voice and sees two heroes storming towards him. “Legend? What are you doing? Stop it! The wounds will open, you idiot!"

Ah, Warriors as pleasant as always...

“Nice to see you too,” he grunts in reply.

Sky appears on his right and without saying anything tries to get Hyrule off him. But Legend refuses and grabs Hyrule by the wrists. Sky silently looks up at him questioningly. Legend smiles defiantly and also says nothing.

"Legend what are you doing?" Warriors sits by his side with Wind peering over his broad shoulder.

"What do you think I’m doing?"

"Well, for me it looks like you and Sky want to torn Hyrule in half"

Hyrule looks up. "WHAT?"

"Nothing, nothing," says Legend, and apparently this calms the other hero as he goes back to sleep.

Somehow Legend finds strength within and pulls Hyrule centrally on him and therefore Sky. Something inside him shifts and excruciating pain tears him apart, he bites his lips to not scream. Before Sky can get up, he grabs him by the head and pulls him towards him and looks him in the eye.

“I--” It doesn't come so easily to him but he was never particularly good at apologising. "I’m sorry for, y’know..."

Sky puts his hands on his. "It's fine"

Legend feels a lump in his throat. “No, it’s not. Not really. Just... just remember that you´re better than you think," He would like to hug him, but… for some reason it doesn't feel right.

Sky seems to think otherwise, because at the same moment he throws himself around his neck.

"When those six bokoblins attacked you, I thought you wouldn't make it out alive," he says, his voice breaking, and it's easy to guess that his eyes are filled with tears. “I was so scared for you… Please don’t do that next time, you’re not alone now you know? We _do_ care about you"

"Yeah I know..." he sighs and pat him on the back.

"Hate to be the one to say it and break your lovey-dovey moment but this is not the best time for that."

Sky nods and stands up and pulls Hyrule back, carefully expecting Legend to make him a living quilt again.

Warriors sits next to him and checks his bandages. Legend doesn't know if it's because his wounds have opened or if Warriors is simply not suited to such things, but his every touch hurts like hell.

Throughout the process of changing the bandages, he throws curses left and right until his throat feels too sore to do that.

"You don’t have any sweet words for me?" he says at some point.

"Of course I do, I just care about your ego"

"How kind of you"

Legend sighs lightly and stares at the ground as if it would make him disappear. “You usually act like a total douchebag… but so do I. But you know what? I like you. Even though most of the time I want to shave you bald at night or throw your scarf into the dunghill, I still… I still like you."

Warriors stops bandaging for a moment and Legend wonders if he said something inappropriate but then Warriors bursts out laughing.

"I love you too"

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language so I'm sorry for any mistakes
> 
> This story was mainly inspired by Ciri's first mission in Witcher 3 when she had to guide Gretka to her aunt. Well after the first paragraph everything went wild.
> 
> Hope you liked Lizzy, bc I had a lot of fun writing her interactions with Legend.
> 
> And yeah I know the ending doesn't kinda fit, but I didn't want to start the new year with a dramatic ending >.>


End file.
